Name | Abbreviation | Current Seats (total) | Description | —|—|— | — [Liberal Democratic Party](https://www.jimin.jp/) (自由民主党) | LDP （自民党） | 373 | Ruling party in coalition with Komeito. Founded by [Abe’s grandfather](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi). The party has maintained its grip on power for the last 3 decades, except for 2009-2012 when the Democratic Party took control. Backed by corporate interests and corporate unions like the [Keidanren](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Business_Federation). Policy: [Privatize everything](https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/vc1368/kishida_announces_expanded_privatization_of/), increase the consumption tax while lowering the corporate tax, make the people struggle while providing generous financial stimulus to their corporate friends. Low transparency, many scandals. Ultra-right wing factions of the party want to revise the constitution and perhaps bring Japan back to its pre-WWII days. [The proposed constitutional revisions previously released by the LDP (which are still uploaded to their official website), if passed, would end democracy in Japan](https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/vne1f4/website_outlining_the_danger_of_the_ldps_proposed/). ([Japanese source](https://kaikensouan.com/)) Not exaggerating. [Constitutional Democratic Party](https://cdp-japan.jp/) (立憲民主党) | CDP (立憲 / 立民) | 141 | Biggest opposition party. Founded from the remnants of the Democratic Party which controlled the government from 2009-2012 and had the misfortune of being in charge during the 2011 earthquake and Fukushima disaster. Generally left-wing and wants to improve gender equality and temporarily reduce the consumption tax to 5%, but also tied to large unions like [Rengo](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E5%8A%B4%E5%83%8D%E7%B5%84%E5%90%88%E7%B7%8F%E9%80%A3%E5%90%88%E4%BC%9A) and has corporate backing. Generally opposes LDP’s proposed changes to the constitution. Large party, so some candidates are more liberal, while others are more conservative, leading to higher inertia. The party needs to demonstrate more initiative and leadership in fighting against the LDP and convince voters that they desire to become the ruling party instead of looking like they want to stay in their comfortable position as the “#1 opposition party” for all time. [Komeito](https://www.komei.or.jp/) (公明党) | NKP | 60 | In coalition with the LDP. Strong connections with the Soka Gakkai religious group. They seem to be (or at least used to be) more anti-war and humanitarian-focused than the LDP, so some people wonder why they are allied with each other. They basically just go along with whatever the LDP wants. [Nippon Ishin no Kai](https://o-ishin.jp/) / Japan Innovation Party (日本維新の会) | Ishin | 56 | Right-wing populist party in control of the government in the Osaka-area. Original party members including Matsui split off from the LDP to form the party. They give off Yakuza-like vibes. Low transparency, many scandals. They have a strong TV presence and have been gaining ground in recent elections. They file [frivolous lawsuits](https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/vcmajc/japan_passes_bill_making_online_insults/icgggra/) against people for “slandering” them on Twitter. One of their main policies is bringing casinos to the Osaka area. They want to fund the development of the casinos with taxpayer money, and [responded to public information requests with blacked out documents](https://youtu.be/7Q2rX5dpVfc?t=394). Their economic policy is similar to the LDP: privatize everything and give juicy contracts to their corporate buddies. They also want to deregulate everything and build Japan a nuclear arsenal. Will almost certainly ally with the LDP for the purpose of constitutional revision. Edit: [やばい](https://twitter.com/GreatRaiden/status/1537449199888871426) Edit2: [超やばい](https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/248452) [Democratic Party for the People](https://new-kokumin.jp/) (国民民主党) | DPP | 23 | Center-to-center-right party that split off from the Democratic Party and didn’t end up merging with the CDP. They recently seem like they might be more willing to collaborate with the LDP and Ishin rather than the left-wing opposition parties. Not quite clear where they stand. Will likely ally with the LDP for the purpose of constitutional revision. [Japanese Communist Party](https://www.jcp.or.jp/) (共産党) | JCP | 23 | Left-wing progressive party that you’d be surprised are “communist” if you didn’t know their party name. Completely different from the communist parties in other countries like China. Anti-war and anti-nuclear proliferation, wants to increase green energy and eliminate nuclear power, reduce college tuition, reduce the consumption tax to 5%, tax corporate reserves and increase wages, improve gender equality, and so on. Opposes LDP’s proposed changes to the constitution. [Only party to refuse the political party subsidy funds](https://www.jcp.or.jp/akahata/aik20/2020-12-07/2020120705_02_0.html) on the belief that it is unconstitutional for an individual’s taxpayer money to fund political parties that they don’t necessarily support. Party is entirely funded by individual donations and subscriptions to their newspaper, [the Akahata](https://www.jcp.or.jp/akahata/), which frequently criticizes the current administration. Known for their stubbornness. Not willing to change their party name for historical reasons. Their party’s 100 year anniversary is coming up soon. [Reiwa Shinsengumi](https://reiwa-shinsengumi.com/) (れいわ新選組) | Reiwa | 5 | Left-wing progressive populist party that has been gaining popularity recently, founded in 2019. Strong focus on economic policy to fix Japan’s economy. Wants to abolish the consumption tax, vastly increase investment in renewable energy, eliminate student debt and make education tuition-free through college, improve animal rights, increase citizen participation in politics, and so on. Anti-war, wants greater emphasis on diplomacy. Opposes LDP’s proposed changes to the constitution. Funded by individual donations and supported by volunteers – no backing from corporations, corporate unions, or religious groups. Huge grassroots volunteer operation with [volunteer centers in Tokyo (Shinjuku) and Osaka (Shinsaibashi)](https://sanin2022.reiwa-shinsengumi.com/volunteer). Famous for their street rallies which allow audience Q&A and utilize a power-point presentation with tens of thousands of slides covering a myriad of different topics. Reiwa is probably the most ambitious left-wing party, and they have [shown a strong conviction to fight against the ruling coalition and shake up the Diet](https://twitter.com/tomo20211108/status/1541609311545303040). Lots of good content on their [official YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgIIlSmbGB5Tn9_zzYMCuNQ/videos). [Social Democratic Party](https://sdp.or.jp/) (社会民主党) | SDP | 2 | Left-wing progressive party that used to have more seats but seems to be fading out recently. Wants to reduce the consumption tax. Opposes LDP’s proposed changes to the constitution. [NHK Party](https://www.syoha.jp/) (NHK党) | N党 / N国 | 1 | [Belligerent](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ofMPCCH8hg&t=934s) ultra-right-wing party that wants to destroy the NHK. Although they have a seemingly-noble cause, it seems more likely that they’re just a bunch of opportunistic grifters. Will do anything for media attention, such as changing their party name multiple times and performing various media stunts. Other scummy activities such as [running candidates with the same name as famous members of other parties](https://www.nikkansports.com/general/nikkan/news/202204280000566.html) in order to divert votes. They also suggest [genocide as a solution to overpopulation](https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/09/50cf9100c811-anti-nhk-party-head-suggests-genocide-to-solve-overpopulation.html). Possibly [eugenics too](https://twitter.com/MMT20191/status/1543435573612134400)? [Sanseitou](https://www.sanseito.jp/) (参政党) | ??? | 0 | Suddenly appeared out of the woodwork before this election. Giving off ultra-nationalist right-wing vibes, possible Abe / Nippon Kaigi / [LDP connections](https://ameblo.jp/anti-great-reset/entry-12739765058.html) in addition to [cult/multi-level-marketing](https://jeffrey.tokyo/blog/?p=57) vibes. They don’t even have a Wikipedia page yet but they’ve been getting promoted heavily. Where are they getting all their money from? Wary of this one. (Note: No seats yet so they are not currently recognized as a national political party)
There are also various independent candidates as well as several fringe parties with no seats like the Happy Science ~~cult’s~~ “religious” group’s “Happiness Realization Party”
Bonus: Excellent site for comparing the policy differences between the various political parties: https://choiceisyours2021.jp
By the way, on TV tonight (June 16th) there will be two different debates between the leaders of all the political parties:
4 comments
Here is my *editorialized* summary of the [various parties](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Japan):
Name | Abbreviation | Current Seats (total) | Description |
—|—|— | —
[Liberal Democratic Party](https://www.jimin.jp/) (自由民主党) | LDP （自民党） | 373 | Ruling party in coalition with Komeito. Founded by [Abe’s grandfather](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobusuke_Kishi). The party has maintained its grip on power for the last 3 decades, except for 2009-2012 when the Democratic Party took control. Backed by corporate interests and corporate unions like the [Keidanren](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Business_Federation). Policy: [Privatize everything](https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/vc1368/kishida_announces_expanded_privatization_of/), increase the consumption tax while lowering the corporate tax, make the people struggle while providing generous financial stimulus to their corporate friends. Low transparency, many scandals. Ultra-right wing factions of the party want to revise the constitution and perhaps bring Japan back to its pre-WWII days. [The proposed constitutional revisions previously released by the LDP (which are still uploaded to their official website), if passed, would end democracy in Japan](https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/vne1f4/website_outlining_the_danger_of_the_ldps_proposed/). ([Japanese source](https://kaikensouan.com/)) Not exaggerating.
[Constitutional Democratic Party](https://cdp-japan.jp/) (立憲民主党) | CDP (立憲 / 立民) | 141 | Biggest opposition party. Founded from the remnants of the Democratic Party which controlled the government from 2009-2012 and had the misfortune of being in charge during the 2011 earthquake and Fukushima disaster. Generally left-wing and wants to improve gender equality and temporarily reduce the consumption tax to 5%, but also tied to large unions like [Rengo](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E5%8A%B4%E5%83%8D%E7%B5%84%E5%90%88%E7%B7%8F%E9%80%A3%E5%90%88%E4%BC%9A) and has corporate backing. Generally opposes LDP’s proposed changes to the constitution. Large party, so some candidates are more liberal, while others are more conservative, leading to higher inertia. The party needs to demonstrate more initiative and leadership in fighting against the LDP and convince voters that they desire to become the ruling party instead of looking like they want to stay in their comfortable position as the “#1 opposition party” for all time.
[Komeito](https://www.komei.or.jp/) (公明党) | NKP | 60 | In coalition with the LDP. Strong connections with the Soka Gakkai religious group. They seem to be (or at least used to be) more anti-war and humanitarian-focused than the LDP, so some people wonder why they are allied with each other. They basically just go along with whatever the LDP wants.
[Nippon Ishin no Kai](https://o-ishin.jp/) / Japan Innovation Party (日本維新の会) | Ishin | 56 | Right-wing populist party in control of the government in the Osaka-area. Original party members including Matsui split off from the LDP to form the party. They give off Yakuza-like vibes. Low transparency, many scandals. They have a strong TV presence and have been gaining ground in recent elections. They file [frivolous lawsuits](https://www.reddit.com/r/japan/comments/vcmajc/japan_passes_bill_making_online_insults/icgggra/) against people for “slandering” them on Twitter. One of their main policies is bringing casinos to the Osaka area. They want to fund the development of the casinos with taxpayer money, and [responded to public information requests with blacked out documents](https://youtu.be/7Q2rX5dpVfc?t=394). Their economic policy is similar to the LDP: privatize everything and give juicy contracts to their corporate buddies. They also want to deregulate everything and build Japan a nuclear arsenal. Will almost certainly ally with the LDP for the purpose of constitutional revision. Edit: [やばい](https://twitter.com/GreatRaiden/status/1537449199888871426) Edit2: [超やばい](https://friday.kodansha.co.jp/article/248452)
[Democratic Party for the People](https://new-kokumin.jp/) (国民民主党) | DPP | 23 | Center-to-center-right party that split off from the Democratic Party and didn’t end up merging with the CDP. They recently seem like they might be more willing to collaborate with the LDP and Ishin rather than the left-wing opposition parties. Not quite clear where they stand. Will likely ally with the LDP for the purpose of constitutional revision.
[Japanese Communist Party](https://www.jcp.or.jp/) (共産党) | JCP | 23 | Left-wing progressive party that you’d be surprised are “communist” if you didn’t know their party name. Completely different from the communist parties in other countries like China. Anti-war and anti-nuclear proliferation, wants to increase green energy and eliminate nuclear power, reduce college tuition, reduce the consumption tax to 5%, tax corporate reserves and increase wages, improve gender equality, and so on. Opposes LDP’s proposed changes to the constitution. [Only party to refuse the political party subsidy funds](https://www.jcp.or.jp/akahata/aik20/2020-12-07/2020120705_02_0.html) on the belief that it is unconstitutional for an individual’s taxpayer money to fund political parties that they don’t necessarily support. Party is entirely funded by individual donations and subscriptions to their newspaper, [the Akahata](https://www.jcp.or.jp/akahata/), which frequently criticizes the current administration. Known for their stubbornness. Not willing to change their party name for historical reasons. Their party’s 100 year anniversary is coming up soon.
[Reiwa Shinsengumi](https://reiwa-shinsengumi.com/) (れいわ新選組) | Reiwa | 5 | Left-wing progressive populist party that has been gaining popularity recently, founded in 2019. Strong focus on economic policy to fix Japan’s economy. Wants to abolish the consumption tax, vastly increase investment in renewable energy, eliminate student debt and make education tuition-free through college, improve animal rights, increase citizen participation in politics, and so on. Anti-war, wants greater emphasis on diplomacy. Opposes LDP’s proposed changes to the constitution. Funded by individual donations and supported by volunteers – no backing from corporations, corporate unions, or religious groups. Huge grassroots volunteer operation with [volunteer centers in Tokyo (Shinjuku) and Osaka (Shinsaibashi)](https://sanin2022.reiwa-shinsengumi.com/volunteer). Famous for their street rallies which allow audience Q&A and utilize a power-point presentation with tens of thousands of slides covering a myriad of different topics. Reiwa is probably the most ambitious left-wing party, and they have [shown a strong conviction to fight against the ruling coalition and shake up the Diet](https://twitter.com/tomo20211108/status/1541609311545303040). Lots of good content on their [official YouTube channel](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgIIlSmbGB5Tn9_zzYMCuNQ/videos).
[Social Democratic Party](https://sdp.or.jp/) (社会民主党) | SDP | 2 | Left-wing progressive party that used to have more seats but seems to be fading out recently. Wants to reduce the consumption tax. Opposes LDP’s proposed changes to the constitution.
[NHK Party](https://www.syoha.jp/) (NHK党) | N党 / N国 | 1 | [Belligerent](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ofMPCCH8hg&t=934s) ultra-right-wing party that wants to destroy the NHK. Although they have a seemingly-noble cause, it seems more likely that they’re just a bunch of opportunistic grifters. Will do anything for media attention, such as changing their party name multiple times and performing various media stunts. Other scummy activities such as [running candidates with the same name as famous members of other parties](https://www.nikkansports.com/general/nikkan/news/202204280000566.html) in order to divert votes. They also suggest [genocide as a solution to overpopulation](https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2019/09/50cf9100c811-anti-nhk-party-head-suggests-genocide-to-solve-overpopulation.html). Possibly [eugenics too](https://twitter.com/MMT20191/status/1543435573612134400)?
[Sanseitou](https://www.sanseito.jp/) (参政党) | ??? | 0 | Suddenly appeared out of the woodwork before this election. Giving off ultra-nationalist right-wing vibes, possible Abe / Nippon Kaigi / [LDP connections](https://ameblo.jp/anti-great-reset/entry-12739765058.html) in addition to [cult/multi-level-marketing](https://jeffrey.tokyo/blog/?p=57) vibes. They don’t even have a Wikipedia page yet but they’ve been getting promoted heavily. Where are they getting all their money from? Wary of this one. (Note: No seats yet so they are not currently recognized as a national political party)
There are also various independent candidates as well as several fringe parties with no seats like the Happy Science ~~cult’s~~ “religious” group’s “Happiness Realization Party”
Bonus: Excellent site for comparing the policy differences between the various political parties:
https://choiceisyours2021.jp
By the way, on TV tonight (June 16th) there will be two different debates between the leaders of all the political parties:
– 21:54～ [Hodo Station](https://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/hst/) (報道ステーション) on TV Asahi
– 23:00～ [News23](https://www.tbs.co.jp/news23/) on TBS
[(source)](https://twitter.com/reiwashinsen/status/1537011176369860609) [(source 2)](https://cdp-japan.jp/news/20220615_3899)
meaning by July 10, Yen is 150 to $1
nhk party always cracks me up.
I’m intrigued by Reiwa shinsengumi.